From This Moment
by Laura Schiller
Summary: A young Tamani watches Laurel's birth.


From This Moment On

By Laura Schiller

Based on the Wings series

Copyright: Aprilynne Pike

Two-year-old Tamani de Rhoslyn toddled along behind his mother with curious eyes. The garden where she worked was like no other garden in Avalon; it was one thing to hear it explained, another to see it.

"Now _don't_ step off the path," Rhoslyn warned. "The sprouts are very delicate. If you step on one accidentally, you'd hurt them."

"Why are they so close to the ground?" he inquired. "They look like cabbages."

Rhoslyn laughed. "You don't think a flower that big could be supported by a long thin stem like a tulip, do you? And you'd never see a cabbage in some of these colors."

She was right. The sprouts were green, purple, red, yellow, blue, white, pink, and every other shade or combination of colors you could imagine. It looked as if a rainbow had scattered on the ground. In front of each sprout was a small wooden stake hammered into the ground, inscribed with the two names chosen by the would-be parents: one for a boy, one for a girl. Gardeners moved along the paths in tan work clothes, (some, like Rhoslyn, accompanied by a child or apprentice), watering the sprouts, pruning other plants which threatened to block their sunlight, applying fertilizer. A summer faerie girl in a light pink gown was playing a harp in one corner.

"What's _she_ there for?" asked Tamani.

"Don't point, it's rude. Hearing music is good for the seedlings; it makes them more intelligent."

Any further reprimands, however, were diverted by a sudden rustling noise to their left. Tamani kneeled down to look; Rhoslyn leaned over him.

"It's blooming," she said, with hushed excitement. "My goodness. Our first Fall faerie this year. Aren't you happy you came today, Tam?"

The sprout was a light blue, the color of the sky above, with faint shades of purple and white along the edges of the petals. Tamani watched as something broke through the top edges of the petals, which proved itself to be a tiny, waving fist. The petals unfurled gracefully, and the seedling inside revealed herself with a triumphant squeal.

She was a tiny thing, white as a lily, with enormous green eyes the color of birch leaves in a round, chubby little face. There was a halo of fluffy blond down on her head. She was adorable.

"Who am I?" she asked, in a tiny voice clear as crystal.

"Your name is Laurel," said Rhoslyn. "Welcome to life."

She took out a pair of scissors, a vial of liquid and a cloth out of her workbag, and gently turned the seedling onto her side.

"Now, I'm going to cut the stem that connects you to your sprout," she explained in a steady, soothing voice, for Tamani's benefit as well as the child's. "This may hurt a little, but it will be over soon, all right?"

Looking alarmed, Laurel reached out her hands to Tamani. "Laurel's scared!" she said. "Laurel don't wanna hurt!"

Without half knowing what he did, Tamani grasped the small hands in his slightly larger ones. "It's okay," he said. "It's okay."

A snip, a squeal, and it was over. Rhoslyn rubbed salve over the wound, pulled out a sleeveless white tunic from her bag, and tugged it over Laurel's head. The little girl stood up on unsteady legs and looked around.

"See," said Tamani, "Now you can walk. Like this."

He took her hand again and led her a few steps down the path.

"Walk!" she said happily. "Laurel likes walking!"

"Yes!"

"Laurel likes you!"

"I like you too. I'm Tam."

Tamani beamed. He did not think much of girls as a rule - his older sisters were certainly annoying enough - but for this one, he'd certainly make an exception.

Laurel whined a protest when Rhoslyn scooped her up and walked away with her.

"Now, child," said the older woman, "It's time to take you home."

"Where is home?"

"The Academy." The three of them glanced over to the tall, gray, imposing structure visible through the gap in the bordering hedgerows. "It's where you'll learn to make potions to help people, see? Like the one I gave you that made the pain go away."

"Why does Laurel have to go?"

"Yeah, why?" echoed Tamani.

Rhoslyn sighed and stepped up her pace. "Because … because that's the way things are. Now stop asking."

"Laurel wants to be with Tam," said the little girl, futilely reaching down a hand from her high perch in Rhoslyn's arms.

They left the sprout garden and found Jamison already waiting, as if he had predicted the arrival of the year's first – and so far, only – Fall faerie. Perhaps he had. He smiled as Rhoslyn handed over Laurel; she sunk into a full bow and, with a nudge, prompted Tamani to do the same.

"I sense great potential in you, little one," Jamison murmured to Laurel. "Your fate will not be a common one. Thank you, Rhoslyn de Kira, for her safe delivery."

As the two Spring faeries turned to leave, they heard the muffled sound of a sob. Tamani turned back and there was Laurel, her green eyes tearful, staring at him over Jamison's shoulder as if to memorize his face.

"I'll come back, Laurel, you hear?" he called. "Don't forget!"

He waved, and Laurel's face lit up like a sun-globe as her little hand waved back.


End file.
